When I first tasted these superb baby tarts (in a tiny village on coastline of Wales, of all places) I couldn’t believe how simple they were.

But the ultimate surprise was the taste — heavenly, and rich with the unusual flavour combination of dates, nuts and fresh ginger. These little tarts will knock your guests out, trust me.

They are perfect for spring and rich enough to please even the fussiest sweet tooth without being cloying or over the top.

For four servings (about six tartlets) you need:

Ingredients

For the crust

190g soft, pitted dates

230g almonds

For the filling

Juice of ½ lemon or lime

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

Seeds scraped from one vanilla pod (or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence)

45ml maple syrup

160g cashew nuts

80ml water

For the topping

1 tin of sliced peaches, drained (you can also use ripe peaches, but they have to be very ripe and starting to soften)

Method

For the tartlets

In a food processor blitz the almonds until creamy then add the dates and process until it resembles sticky dough.

Using cling film line six tartlet tins then divide the sticky dough between the six cavities and with a warm back of a spoon create a crust of about 3mm thick in each.

Place in a freezer and chill well for 45 minutes.

Remove and gently ease the crusts away from the cling film and place on individual serving platters.

For the filling

While the tart shells are chilling whiz all the filling ingredients together in a blender.

When ready to serve scoop a spoon of filling into each casing and top with peach slices.